


Winter Woods

by Asmodeus



Series: As Seasons Pass [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, ITS CRIBMAS YOU HOOLIGANS, M/M, THE DEATH IS TEMPORARY DON'T HURT ME, Temporary Character Death, there the proper tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 03:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13045527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asmodeus/pseuds/Asmodeus
Summary: everyone in the village knows not to go into the woods -- but everyone also knows that tony stark never listens to what everyone says.





	Winter Woods

**Author's Note:**

> i make these long and then regret my 12 fics of christmas. unbeta'd bc i'm a monster. if i fudged up and called loki a he in here please kick me i'll fix it.

They say that the village of York has been plagued with winter since before Tony’s great grandfathers time.

It’s not that Tony wouldn’t believe it, it’s frigid there and even the neighboring towns and cities have slowed their trades with them. They don’t have fresh fruit or vegetables due to the cold preventing it, their forest has shrunk over the constant need to feed the fires that heat their homes. People have fallen sick, a normal by anyone standard, from living in the cold so often. Some of the younger generations have grown more resilient to the temperatures due to being out in the snow since young, but not all of the elders have that advantage.

There’s stories as to why though, that maybe the gods and deities cursed them all, that they were a fluke in creation and had to be rid of. Perhaps the village held a secret and it was too risky to let others find it so they kept others out -- no one quite knows the real answer. All the adults and elders do know is that the forest is off limits. They tell stories to the children of people going in and never coming out. They use it as a threat to behave, that if they don’t go to sleep or eat what they have that they’ll be sent into the woods alone. No one ever has, but the threat remains strong.

Tony Stark is a blacksmith in this village. He’s apprenticed under a man by the name of Yinsen from the age of thirteen and has grown more skilled and talented in the seven years he’s done so. He’s spent those years trying to improve the lifestyles of the people in the village; piping to help move the heat through houses, making the wood last longer in the furnaces and stoves, rooms built in the village with heat to help grow what few vegetables and fruits they could ( Tony has long gotten tired of potatoes if anyone cared ). He’s done everything that he could but he knows too well that what he’s doing still isn’t enough in the end, it only delays what end he sees -- what they all see.

But then he gets tired of it, tired of seeing people fall ill and suffer. So Tony decides that perhaps its time to find the source, to stop this winter where it starts. Of course Rhodey, good ol’ Rhodey, has more than enough words to say about that. He calls Tony crazy, asks if he has a deathwish -- because no one goes into the Winter Woods and expects to leave them alive. Of course Tony isn’t everyone else though, he’s intelligent and determined even if his stubborn streak is seven miles long. The longer Rhodey delays him the more he wants to go in, to discover what is causing all of this. 

Pepper stops him one day when he’s pulling his scarf and jacket on, the knit wrapping around his ears and over his nose as he bundles up for the trek into the woods. Tony catches the flash of her bright hair as he settles into his scarf and blinks.

‘ Hey Pep, what brings you to the workshop ?? ‘ its left curious, light, but he can see only seconds later that she doesn’t look impressed. She looks terrified and equally enraged. Ah, so Rhodey spoke to her about his plans then. Teeth worry into his bottom lip before he grins wide, the motion showing in his eyes as he watches her closely.

Pepper takes a painstakingly slot breath which makes Tony cringe internally. ‘ Tony, ‘ she starts, her words carefully picked as she speaks. She waits until Tony gives a small sound of approval in response before she continues, ‘ we both know that you aren’t widely known for your lack of intelligence … so tell me -- how in the world did I hear word from Rhodey that you’re going to go into the Winter Woods today ?? ‘ Her tone is an octave or two higher than normal and Tony finds it difficult to listen to.

‘ Pepper -- hear me out first !! But the village isn’t going to last, and someone has to do something about it !! I’m going to find the source and fix this, and if I can’t fix this then you have to get everyone out of the village. Promise me. ‘ He’s serious, a tone he’s rarely used with Pepper through their entire childhood together. Tony can see her brows furrow in thought, she knows he’s right but doesn’t want him to be reckless ( or more so than he usually is ). Instead, she can’t form the proper words and simply storms out, the bottom of her coat hitting the cold breeze as she leaves.

Tony knows she worries, that’s always what she’s done for him. But now Tony was worrying for the whole village, something he’s never done so openly before. His father stopped caring about the stupid things he’s done which leaves no one to stop him besides his close friends. He’d do this, he was going to solve the problem.

So, geared up he heads out, the breeze bringing colour to his cheeks as Tony heads straight into the woods and ignores any shouts behind him, simply waving them off with a gloved hand in the air and continuing on. The woods seem no different than the outsides as he walks, the first ten to twenty minutes it's nothing different. The scarce birds that survived in this cold, dead trees that couldn’t handle the lack of water. Further in he goes he finds less snow, more ice, and when he’s a clear hour into his walk his shoes stick to the ice on occasion from the temperatures. Scarf nuzzled above his nose he presses further -- he has to.

It pulls through.

Soon enough the trees start to thin and a clearing is presented in front of him. There’s nothing but ice in the center and a single tree. It's a stunning picture, especially the being who stands beneath it, distracted by their own thoughts. Tony only makes it two steps closer to the clearing before he hears a low growl, a menacing sound from the creature in the center.

‘ Come no closer. ‘ Its a velvet smooth voice with a sharp edge, promising the threat more than the adults promised the threat of sending kids into the woods. Tony has never felt fear in his life before though ( he’s never had a reason ) and he has to speak up, not letting this turn him around from the problem he was here to solve.

‘ I don’t mean any harm, I’ve got nothing on me, no room in my coat or pockets. ‘ Each word is a breath of fogged air even with his scarf piled over his face. The being snaps their head towards Tony, deep red eyes focused on the human, as they stare him down.

‘ Everyone who enters the woods wishes me dead. ‘ Their fingers, blue and clawed with black nails, curls into fists before relaxing and tensing again. They seem to be holding back, stopping themself from lunging, attacking and making Tony regret his choice to enter the woods.

Tony holds his hands up as much as he doesn’t want to. Leather gloves lined with fur is all he can fit in his pockets, there’s no space for any weapons. ‘ Unless you die by the force of sheer willpower, I can’t do anything against you. I just want to know why you’re doing this to our village. ‘

That earns him a curious look, still furious as the being takes a few steps towards Tony. Brows furrow, a frown clear on cold features. ‘ I did not wish this upon your people, this is a curse that the All Father has placed on me. ‘

There’s a soft noise from Tony before he bundles his hands back into his pockets and nods. ‘ Okay … ‘ It’s all a mystery, truth or not, but he won’t just sit there and wonder about it, he has to know. ‘ Tell me about it. ‘ The curious look doesn’t fade as the being blinks, gaze narrowing on the human. Tony can tell that whomever this was had never dealt with someone who wanted to know more, not just kill them and hoped it ended. ‘ Oh, what should I call you ?? Because Frosty is really disrespectful as tempting as it is. ‘

A low hiss from the other as they stalk towards Tony but remain a foot away. Tony can tell that he is shorter than the creature, but closer to each other he can see the markings that adorn their skin. They were … stunning, and he wouldn’t be lying if he wanted to trace them, risk the frostbite and learn -- explore. However, Tony shakes the thought away, remains firm to learn the stories and the lore behind the other, behind the eternal winter plaguing his village.

‘ Loki. I am the deity of winter. ‘ Their eyes sweep across Tony before out into the forest behind him. For such vibrant eyes they hold so little emotion, anger lingers but its bitter, aged, and he’s sure that there is cause for it -- the story for instance. ‘ Long ago I fooled a fellow deity into believing that the storms he brought were needed upon a field of crops … he had drowned the fields and the crops all died. The All Father, the deity of all deities, seen what I had done and banished me to this forest. I cannot break the magic that locks me here until I have learnt my wrongs. ‘ Words turn bitter as they slip from their lips, a grudge centuries old still rooted deep in their bones.

‘ Well, ‘ Tony starts, humming softly as he looks at the other, ‘ I can help you try to solve this ?? You know, it's a win-win situation here going on, you get to go off and spread winter to more than just my village, our village gets to experience spring again … it’ll be great, I promise !! ‘ Tony knows too well that he’s a rambler, Pepper and Rhodey have dealt with him on the worst of days, but it’s a lopsided grin he shares when the deity -- Loki -- gives him a doubtful look.

Tony doesn’t blame them, after all Loki knows nothing about Tony. Here’s this kid who comes from the village you ended up damning to freeze to death and he says he can help you. Well, unsurprisingly the deity laughs, it starts as a low chuckle before they burst into a full laugh. Its short lived and Tony has his doubts on the others sanity now. ( Banished to a single snowy forest for generations of humans and any company you gain wants you dead ?? Tony would laugh too. )

‘ Okay look -- I’m on your side with the storm deity, if he fell for something as simple as being asked to do something when, I don’t know, some higher power or feeling should tell him when to shower on places, it's all on him. He’s a dumbass, ‘ Tony stops himself as he looks at the other, Loki now with a wide grin on their lips. The deity obviously thought the same thing.

‘ If you wish … I will not stop you from entertaining me until your life ends. You mortals burn out in the blink of an eye … ‘

It’s the last Tony hears from the deity before he grins, thanks him and promises to return the next time he can. The trek back through the woods is just as cold as the way in, and Tony knows there most likely is some sort of damage to his fingers. A little damage isn’t enough to deter him though, he’s Tony Stark, the smartest person to be born in the village of York in centuries. He can solve this mystery. He hopes he can at least.

Tony is sure it takes him less time to make it back than his adventure out. He can see the village in a small frenzy, considering Tony had just waltzed into the woods with no thought process that anyone knew of beforehand. Rhodey most likely told them all that he was going through some mid-life crisis. Pepper could assuredly tell them all he was just outright crazy. But when the people seen Tony step out of the trees and smile at them all, a wave before he shoved hands back into his pockets.

‘ Hey, don’t you think you’re all overreacting a little bit ?? It's just a stroll in the woods. ‘

He’s not allowed to leave his house for three days after, his fingers are looked at and treated by Dr Banner, carefully wrapped and kept warm as he sits in front of the fire and sips at his mug of coffee. House visits are made daily to assure he’s fine, and his father, the man who never gave a shit about Tony beforehand, even visits to yell at him and tell Tony how stupid of a son he was for going into the woods. He was lucky to make it back out alive seeing as he was gone for over three hours --

Tony has to stop him there, a hand brought up which surprisingly bring Howard to silence. ‘ How long I was gone means nothing. You never cared what I’ve done before, dad. So what difference is it now ?? I went into the woods. I found the cause, and I’m going to go back and solve it. ‘ He narrows his eyes at Howard, standing at his full height above Tony who simply sits and enjoys his drink. Today had been a calm day, he even debating about going to see Loki the following day but now ?? Tony wanted nothing but to get dressed and march out into the woods again, listen to his father scream and shout at him from the safety of the village.

‘ No one can fix this Anthony !! ‘

That’s the last words Tony hears before he goes through with his thought process, getting up and dressed, scarf wrapped around as much of his face before his jacket is pulled over that and he storms out, Howard sputtering and angry behind him. Tony ignores the worried words from other villagers and especially the shouts from Howard as he simply waves over his shoulder and continues walking. Tony’s path is the same, the snow covering up his old one but nothing stops him from following the direction the cold wind blows from.

When Tony arrives at the clearing he’s still upset, still heated from the argument with Howard. Loki however seems to be in a relatively amiable mood, a single brow cocked up towards Tony whom Loki most likely thought would not return after days of absence.

‘ It’s cold in here, I had to warm up before I got back, ‘ is all Tony mananges before he fully enters the clearing and sits beside Loki at the tree. Loki doesn’t seem to question the pinched expression that Tony has, which Tony is grateful for. Instead Tony works on getting information from Loki about the curse they were under. Like what the All Father had said to them, how long they had been there. He started to bounce ideas off of Loki for things they could try to do. A lot get shot down, but some Loki gives Tony a look of indifference about ( Tony has read these looks as ‘ nice try but that’s a laugh ‘ equivalents from Loki ).

All of Tony’s visits seem to work the same way from that point with or without the fight from his father beforehand. He still works on improving the village though it’s slightly more difficult as his fingers take more damage from the cold. Tony takes a visit and puts it off when Yinsen passes from falling sick a few weeks earlier. He doesn’t show Loki that things are looking grim in the village. What would Loki care about it anyways ?? But perhaps that’s what makes it odd when it isn’t Tony who visits Loki four weeks into the visits but Pepper instead.

She stands as proud as she can, red hair tucked under her scarf, hat pulled tight over her head and ears. Loki knows that this woman isn’t impressed, but no one ever was when they came into the clearing ( except for Tony … where was he ?? It had been a week since his last visit ). Neither speak for a few minutes, red eyes trained on the human who entered his barless jail cell.

Pepper breaks the silence.

‘ Tony is sick. ‘ The words are painful as they slip out, the proud stance she had set crumbles so soon after she says them. ‘ People in the village never get better after they get sick. ‘

It takes only a moment before Loki understands exactly what Pepper was telling them. Tony had risked his life to try and solve this curse, to end what was happening in the village once and for all. He never tried to kill the deity, never once raised a hand against Loki ( besides a few playful hits against them ). Tony had been the closest thing to a friend or even someone who cared that Loki had ever had. Red eyes widen before they shout, a wordless sound as ice cracks up from the earth and shatters, repeats until they’re out of breath and collapses to their knees.

Pepper stands strong through it all, taking a calm step back when a pillar of ice gets too clear to her for comfort. When Loki collapses she takes the few steps needed to make it to their side, a mittened hand coming to rest very carefully on his back. ‘ He doesn’t want to see you, but he’s thinking of you, talking about you. So I think you should come see him. I … I’m not blaming you for this, Tony is stupid enough to go running into the woods no matter what the cause for our winter would be … but if you can make him genuinely smile one more time ?? I’ll call us even. ‘

Loki lets the colour start to drain from themselves, blue slipping into a pale complexion as green eyes look up at Pepper. Loki would see him. The walk is uneventful but the two keep a steady pace, Tony’s time is limited after all. Rhodey is waiting at the edge of the woods when they emerge, eyes widening as he takes in the horned figure of Loki. The deity doesn’t smirk or goad the other, simply asks where Tony is staying. The three make it to a larger building in the village, Howard and Maria sitting in the living room as they shook their heads at their sons stupidity. Loki can barely look at them, knowing exactly what thoughts they had in their heads. Pushing through they make it to a back room, small and cozy.

Sitting upright in his bed is Tony, a book in his lap as his fingers are carefully wrapped in bandages.

Looking up when they open the door, Tony grins wide, the reflecting emotion never reaches his eyes and Loki knows. Tony had smiled with them out in the woods, this wasn’t the Tony they knew. Pepper and Rhodey leave the deity in the room, closing the door behind them, worried looks on their faces as they knew this went against Tony’s voiced wishes.

‘ I … I didn’t want you to see this. ‘

The grin is wiped from Tony’s lips as soon as the door is closed, fingers curling carefully into fists, refusing to meet Loki’s eyes as they stepped closer. He can hear the movement as Loki drops onto his knees beside the bed, and the weight put on the mattress as they lean against it. ‘ Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to see you. But … how much more pressure is it on someone who’s been killing people in a village for years to know that they’ve done this ?? I wanted to fix everything. Stop people dying… to set you free. But I can’t even do that. Instead of all that I got myself sick, and Bruce says I have a few weeks left to live, Loki. ‘

When Tony finally looks up is when Loki breaks, because they’ve finally figured out how fragile and short a mortals life is. Their cold rage had killed so many and now ?? Now it was going to be the death of the person they had grown to care about. Face buried in their arms on the bed, Loki can feel the tears streak down onto the mattress. They’re there for only a few moments before warm arms wrap around his head, Tony’s forehead resting against them.

‘ I’m sorry, Loki. I’m so fucking sorry. ‘

That’s the last thing Loki hears from Tony, as when Loki finally shifts Tony has fallen asleep against them. It’s a careful movement to get out of Tony’s embrace without waking him, but when Loki manages it he slips out of the house and immediately into the woods.

No one sees him again.

\--------

Its weeks later when the snow starts to melt in the village, the first signs of water dripping from icicles that had been formed for years. Eventually they see green on the ground, and even though Tony passed away a week before, the village is sure that this was his doing.

Loki finds themself in the hall of the All Father, expression hardened as they focus on deep breaths and staying calm. The curse had been lifted, an uneventful affair not long after Loki had been informed of Tony’s passing. Their shoulders felt lighter and when they attempted to leave the dome of the winter they had created -- he could. So what reason the All Father had for summoning Loki here today was beyond their knowledge.

The All Father however seemed in good spirits, standing from his throne as he approached Loki, carefully, with a smile on his lips. ‘ You have done well, it may have taken longer than we had hoped but you bested yourself and now you stand before me. ‘

A snarl slips from winters lips before they look at the man, dressed in all the gold the realms had to offer. ‘ I bested nothing, All Father. I killed countless people in my anger and I … I killed him. The only one who tried to aid me. ‘

A quirk of the All Fathers lips before he returned to his throne and made a small motion towards a pillar which left Loki confused -- until he seen who walked out from behind it. A gold and red cloak wrapped around his shoulders, Loki would recognize him in any form the now formal mortal chose to take.

‘ Loki, please meet the new deity of spring -- Anthony. ‘

Tony, grinning wide and sincerely, takes off at a run towards Loki, arms wrapping around Loki who returned the action. It was warm in Tony’s arms … a warmth that had already melted winter and brought forth spring.

**Author's Note:**

> ( i might add a second story to this later. ) any and all comments and kudos are loved !!


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